So, here I am, bought this new guitar back few months ago, the shape was different, didn't know exactly of it's origin(name), searched through internet and found out it was an oval guitar. Okie so fine, been trying to learn guitar from about.guitar.com on my own got stucked.

I really really would love to play a few of my favourite songs handed play guitar by myself, only like slow music ... and lil bit tad of rock songs etc.. goo goo dolls.

Any tips??????
What I need to know about guitar??? What is freedom?

This post has been edited by Anime-FAN: Dec 1 2007, 02:21 PM

the structure of the guitar, how to handle the guitar, guitar holding position, how to take care of the guitar...etc....

Learnt the basics already sir !

C'mon giv more advice la? shud i get a tutor? cuz my experience not going anywhr, with self-learning! aiyo... almost 4 months dy! frustrated everytime try to play that dam guitar. ZZZZ

i learn guitar from my frens.hehe
no need tutor class.
for advance learning, i learn by myself

dude...patience is the key.

what you need is determination and motivation. self-learning is not the same as class-learning. you don't have syllabus. you're on your own. you'll dropped out if you're lazy.

as you already know the basics, now find some simple songs that you really like to play and are really familiar with. learn it slowly. as a beginner go with strumming songs 1st. example:

Sister hazel - all for you
bryan adams - back to you

these 2 songs are good for chord shifting and strumming patterns. it can be tricky, but it's fun. remember, patience is the key. you may get stuck trying to get the strumming rhythm or chord changing. that's why you need practice. learning guitar is not a few months job. it'll take years.

then, watch many guitar videos to see how people perform some techniques. books don't help on techniques, you need to see how it's done.

i've been a self learner since '96. so i should know what i'm talking about. . now, i got a few dozens songs under my arsenal.

This post has been edited by zeroglyph: Sep 23 2007, 01:37 AM

thts true.

It seems like you've tried out self-learning and are frustrated with your lack of progress. I recommend taking a few classes. You can do this a few ways - from a friend who knows how to play, or from a guitar store.

Sometimes the friend route is not the best, cause he/she wouldn't know the best way to teach you, but if you really can't afford classes (or are just cheap, like me ), go for it. I've tried teaching a few people (all never played before -real beginners) and only one person really learnt anything useful from me - maybe I'm just a bad teacher!

A friend is also the best way to learn about guitar maintenance, etc, cause I know that most places won't teach you that. You can pick up the lingo, and learn things like how to change strings, where to get the best deal on fixing stuff, etc.

Otherwise, go for a month or two of classes. I did when i started and found that after three months (and about $400 later), I could play most of the simple chords and songs, and was better off learning on my own. All I needed was a foundation on what/how to learn. Be careful about where you learn though - it's sad to say but some teachers at guitar stores don't really know how to teach. I speak from experience. Sometimes they make you buy expensive books and seem more intent on making you buy a new guitar from them than teaching you how to play properly (I won't name the store cause they might have changed now).

LYN has a sticky thread about this, so check it out before you go to any stores. A few months of solid, real guitar classes and you will see leaps in your playing ability and confidence. You can decide then if you want to stick to it, or if you think you can start learning on your own.

Remember that learning to play the guitar will take lots of patience and practice. You never really finish learning. You just keep picking up new things/techniques all the time. And there are tons of songs to learn, so you'll never get bored. Good luck!

Good riddance and thank you! thats what i had in mind as well, hahaha!

hi im a beginner also . i just finish beginner book .. but took me 5 months ! am i too slow ?!
can i know wats the dif between acoustic and classical?

erm.acoustic and classical guitar is it?classical guitar uses nylon string only where acoustic can use both nylon and steel but normally it uses the latter.ah..that's all i know.haha

hi all im new here

i decide to learn to play guitar and bought a kapok a few day ago to kill my boredom.i find really hard to learn to play the guitar.so far i haven't bought any reading material and right now i just refer at
http://guitaralliance.com/guitar_lessons/g...itar_chords.htm

i managed to memorize 3 major chord though the sound from the sample and mine are different.the problem im having now is am relocated quite far from the city becouse of jobs and cant find any tutor or friends.

my question is

1) is it possible for me to self thought?

2) any book recommended?

3) am i to old to play guitar? im 22 now and i barely can move my finger on the fretboard? how to make ur finger soft enough.mine like "batu" already

thanks in Advance

First of all, you're never too old to learn ANYTHING, and yes, it's possible to be a self taught guitarist. But you'll learn faster with a guide.

Lol i think that happens to everyone the first time they touch the guitar so don't worry about it. My fingers were like "batu" too when i first played it when i was like 14 hehe
My advice, get a tutor. You'll learn faster and you'll know what you are doing wrong. Im not entirely against learning by yourself, I just find learning from a qualified tutor more appropriate.
But if you really want to learn by yourself, i suggest familiarizing your fingers to the fretboard. For starters, practice until you can change chords with the least pauses in between. That is to make sure your fingers get used to holding different chord "patterns" on the board ^^

I was once a beginner and knew how frustrating it can be when u played for some time and you were still stuck at a point, eg. changing chords, not able to play a complete song. But as time goes by, you will get what you want. I almost gave up guitar but now guitar is my best friend. I didnt take any lesson but I learn from my friends, website ( I like ultimate-guitar) and now you have lotsa online lessons on youtube. I'm sure that will help you out, really. Good luck, dude.

i m a beginner oso before...
i learn guitar from my bro...he teach me all bout guitar..
then he tell me to learn from Video since he study quite far away..
Youtube got alot of useful video...teach u how to strumming,how to switch chord..and a lot more..till how to solo oso got..
or u can search around the net..
Now...steve solo i oso can play d...hahahahaha

I'm a self-taught beginner too, started learning in june this year...
That time i started with a kapok, didn't even know a single chord...
Now i can play simple songs like stairway to heaven(beginning only), good riddance, wake me up when september ends... etc.. etc..
And the initial process is always tough, but never give up..
And i also agree u can learn a lot from youtube too, it is always best to see how others do it..

Best sounding advice i got... practice practice and more practice.. and it does wonders... prob u can try out ultimate-guitar.com if i remembered it correctly, there is a huge list of songs that u can learn to play. Cheerios

-closed-

This post has been edited by Perseus: Jun 30 2008, 06:43 PM

i am a self-taught guitarist, not really pro but i have taught around 30-50 friends before and most of them can play at least a few songs after 3-4 months if they didnt give up.

well,when i learn how to play guitar, i only had a chord book,a guitar,and a few song sheet with simple chords.

if you are going for acoustic[more on strumming, and it is actually pretty easy to learn if you practice.], hmm...i'll recomend starting off with "elvis presley - diana" the chords are not that hard and is has simple chord progression. C-Am-F-G....[F might be hard on beginners coz you cant seem to be able to press 2 strings with 1 finger YET.].as for the strumming part, just downstrokes for starters...i learn strumming style from listenning, so, i am not really good in explaining how to strum.

as for classical[more on plucking, use fingers rather than pick(some uses pick though)],hmm...this one i think it would be best to learn from someone else, in case you pick up some REALLY bad habbits...for starters, i think "romance de amour" looks pretty simple at the first part...

someone did mention about the difference between an acoustic and a classical guitar, just to add to that point, accoustic guitars normally has slimmer necks[the place where you put your finger firmly to create different frequency of sound]. and classical has a pretty wide gap.as for KAPOK... i am not sure wether it is an accoustic or a classical guitar, so, if you put on steel strings = accoustic, if you put on nilons = classic.

i used to recomend starters to use KAPOK with nilons, it wont make your finger as painful...instead, it makes your fingers go numb....
since i havent teach anyone guitar for quite some time, i am not sure which is the best option, and it depends a lot on the individual...

thanks guys.i'll keep in mind.i hope someday i'll able to play the guitar